Attorney general resources can help sun shine in

Sunshine Week advice: Ohioans who are
denied public records should not simply give up.

The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine offers the two best, no-cost ways to help the
public to assert its public records rights.

The first is the so-called
“Yellow Book,” the
Ohio Sunshine Laws manual that is updated and issued every year. The new 2014 version,
containing developments in government-access laws last year, was rolled out this week.

It’s an invaluable publication, the Sunshine Bible, for those who want to ensure their requests
for records are honored and not simply batted away by government officials who don’t know the law.
Don’t be buffaloed. Know the law.

Secondly, DeWine’s office also offers a little-known and under-used service that can help pry
loose denied or delayed public records.

A
public records-mediation program created by the AG’s office has helped resolve
dozens of cases in favor of average Ohioans who have run into roadblocks while seeking records from
local governments or school districts.

The cost-free program is valuable because the only other “appeal” available to Ohioans whose
records requests are rejected is costly – a trip to and through the courts, generally with the
assistance of a lawyer.

Since the attorney general serves as the lawyer for state agencies and public universities and
colleges, the office cannot mediate disputes over records requests involving the state. Still, the
program has informally shaken loose records from state entities after inquiries from DeWine’s
office.

The office reports it has received 90 public-records complaints since mid-2012 and has resolved
64 complaints prior to even reaching mediation. Of the 18 cases that did reach mediation – a
voluntary process in which government officials can decline to participate – 16 were resolved.

Here’s a rundown of the records-mediation cases for
2012,
2013 and
2014. Look them
over for examples of the help you can expect.